Case StudyOUTDOOR & SPORTING GOODS

Brooks Builds Long-Running Success with Demandware

Hyper-focused on running, Brooks Running Company has cultivated a running experience –

a combination of high-performance products, personal service and a ‘Run Happy’ attitude – that has earned it the leading position at specialty running stores.

Hoping to connect with runners across any digital device or channel, Brooks has built

a strong team and infrastructure to keep pace with runner’s evolving needs. Since

moving to the Demandware platform in 2010, Brooks has exponentially grown its

ecommerce team and online sales, recently launching a new responsive website in

conjunction with a brand refresh in January 2014.

“The new site was designed to elevate the digital experience for runners everywhere,”

says Meredith Han, Senior Director, Global eCommerce at Brooks. “Using responsive

web design, social integration and online tools, we are able to focus on better ways

to bring our products and services directly to runners, wherever they are.”

“With Demandware, we don’t have to worry about IT,” comments Han. “We can

remain 100% focused on what we do best – high-performance running gear made by

the best biomechanical experts in the ! eld.”

ACCELERATING SITE PERFORMANCE AND THE USER EXPERIENCE

Since launching the responsive site and new brand presence in January 2014,

Brooks has created an optimized experience for mobile users while also improving

site performance and customer satisfaction.

Following the launch, Brooks achieved a double-digit improvement in conversion of

mobile shoppers compared with same time in 2013. While the ‘Shoe Advisor’ tool

quickly became one of the most used features of the website.

The Shoe Advisor is just one of the online tools implemented by Brooks to help

runners identify shoes that ! t their needs. The ‘Switcheroo’ also allows runners to ! nd

a shoe by entering information about the current model they run in.

• Reported half a billion dollars in total global revenue on a rolling 12-month basis as of April 2014 1

Because Brooks believes in having customers run in their shoes to ensure a perfect

! t, the company has a ‘True Blue Guarantee’ – a no-questions-asked, free 30-day

return policy.

Brooks has also made it possible for satis! ed runners to easily share and upload

pictures of their shoes or connect with Brooks’ growing global running community by

clicking on any of the social integration features on Brooksrunning.com.

THE TEAM AND TECHNOLOGY BEHIND IT ALL

These and many other enhancements have all been enabled by Demandware. As

Han explains: “The Demandware platform is highly adaptable and has seamlessly

powered our business growth and peaks in site traf! c from day one.”

Since 2010, Brooks has successfully scaled and evolved its online business using

Demandware. “Demandware provides all the tools to deal with change, which is

incredibly powerful,” says Han. “For example, mobile was just a blip in 2009. If you

fast forward to today, it is a signi! cant portion of our overall traf! c and grows double

digit year over year.”

The Demandware community has also proved to be a valuable resource for Brooks

to evaluate partner vendors and trade notes with other retailers on subjects such as

channel traf! c breakdown and what is reasonable to expect.

“The incredibly rich client community at Demandware has been a huge bene! t,”

says Han. “Leveraging benchmark data and connecting with other clients of all sizes

and business models has de! nitely helped us from a resource and organizational

standpoint.”

CONTINUING FULL SPEED AHEAD

Brooks will continue to leverage Demandware to improve the user experience and

expand digital commerce regionally. Future plans include accelerated involvement and

engagement with internal subject matter experts and various functions at Brooks for

better product storytelling and presentation.

In early 2014, Brooks relocated its EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa)

headquarters to Amsterdam in a strategic shift to foster global growth. Demandware

will support Brooks in EMEA with ecommerce site launches that re" ect local

language, culture and preferences.

“We know that Demandware will be able to grow with our business, providing best

practice advice and an ecommerce platform that will help us accelerate international

expansion and achieve peak market performance,” concludes Han.

[1] Source: http://www.brooksrunning.com/en_us/05-16-2014.html

Case StudyOUTDOOR & SPORTING GOODS

• Achieved double-digit mobile conversion improvement with launch of responsive design and brand refresh

© 2014 Demandware, Inc. This document contains archival information which should not be considered current and may no longer be accurate. Approved for unlimited distribution.

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